It is common for set-top boxes (STB) to be deployed in heterogeneous environments where the STB can receive broadcast services from different providers, with each service following standards that may be specific to the associated provider. As an example, a STB may receive a video service from a cable operator and a different video service from a satellite provider, as both services may be routed through the same physical network.
Services delivered over different networks may include subtle differences in the encoding and formatting of delivered content. For example, each provider may deliver closed caption data within a content stream using different encoding and formatting parameters. Therefore, when a STB is configured to receive services from multiple providers, the STB may delay or may be unable to deliver some features to an end-user. As an example, a STB may be configured to process closed caption data according to a technique that is tailored to a cable service but that is incompatible with the closed caption format used by a satellite service. As another example, the STB may be configured to render closed caption data of a cable service differently from closed caption data of a satellite service, thereby resulting in an inconsistent display of closed captioning to an end-user. Therefore, it is desirable to improve upon methods and systems for processing closed caption data within content streams received from various sources.
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.